Pink tax creates gender-based price differences in Brazil

Global Business

Studies have documented how women worldwide earn lower salaries than men for comparable work. But research shows women worldwide are also charged more than men for comparable products and services.

It’s the so-called Pink Tax for gender-based price differences in Brazil.

CGTN’s Paulo Cabral reports.

Wanessa Dias is a mother of two. She’s already noticed the products she buys for her daughter are more expensive than those she buys for her son, like toys and clothing.

This gender-based price difference for similar products is what’s been dubbed by economists as the Pink Tax.

“I think it’s a cultural issue. It comes from a time when women were seen as having the obligation of being well-dressed and look good all the time. So we’d buy products to be what was expected, no matter the price. I think this thought is still stuck in many people’s heads,” Dias said.

A survey by the ESPM Brazilian School of Business found women pay a Pink tax averaging 27 percent for a haircut versus 26 percent for girls’ toys, 23 percent for children’s clothing versus 17 percent for adult clothing, and 4 percent for personal hygiene products.

The researcher who conducted the survey said the difference has to do with old habits, coming from a time when shopping was seen as primarily a women’s activity.

“From the early years of the 20th century up to World War II, the retail business grew a lot, but men didn’t have the habit of going to shops. It was seen as something for women. So, retailers used to charge less from men to attract them to their shops. Then, the world changed. Men are also shoppers now, but this price structure never changed,” Fabio Mariano, ESPM retail expert said.